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Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke
Publisher: Wolf Rinke Associates, Inc.
(c) 2003 Wolf J. Rinke
Vol. 6 No. 5, October/November 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. SIX STEPS FOR BUILDING TRUST--PART I
3. DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM?
4. HUMOR BREAK
5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
6. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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REALITY CHECK
There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down the
other is pulling up.
--Booker T. Washington
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1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
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THE GLASS CEILING IS BEGINNING TO CRACK
Working women are better educated than working men (31% vs. 27% respectively
have a four-year college degree), and more women (39%) than men hold
managerial positions (30%). (Read that again!) And yet women continue
to make less money. An average of $36,716/yr or $19.16/hour vs. $52,908/yr
or $22.29 for men. The 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce,
conducted by the Families and Work Institute, found that part of the
discrepancy is because more women work part time than men, in general
women work fewer hours and are less willing to go on overnight business
trips than men. The reason is that even though men are spending more
time taking care of children (42 minutes more than in 1977), women still
spend much more time taking care of children than men. The study also
found that "employees who have greater responsibility for care
of their children--whether men or women--report lower earnings."
ACTION STEPS:
Reach a consensus with your spouse regarding how to best divide responsibilities
for taking care of children. Then honor that commitment knowing full
well that whoever assumes the primary responsibility will likely earn
less money.
Source: www.familiesandwork.org
DUAL WAGE EARNER COUPLES ARE TIME STARVED
The same study referred to above, found that the 78% of couples who
are dual wage earners work an average of 91 hours/week per couple. (In
1977 there were only 66% such couples and they spent 81 hours at work.)
Today's couples spend more time with their children (5.2 hours in 1977
vs. 6.2 hours today) and less on themselves. Fathers spend 1.3 hours
on workdays on themselves vs. mothers who only spend 0.9 hours for personal
pursuits.
ACTION STEPS
Reassess your priorities. Make time for the most important person in
your life--your spouse.
Source: www.familiesandwork.org
FLEX-TIME IS GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY
Another finding from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce
is that 43% of employees have some control over when they start and
stop work, and that those who do reported 13% "fewer mental-health
problems such as minor illnesses, sleep disruptions, nervousness, stress
and inability to cope."
ACTION STEPS
Provide your employees some control over when they start and stop work.
If you are an employee, negotiate for some form of flextime, even if
you have to give something else up. It will keep you healthier.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, 9/30/03 p. D2.
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2. SIX STEPS FOR BUILDING TRUST--PART I
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Trust has become a vanishing act. No wonder, with all the bankruptcies,
mergers and layoffs employees find it increasingly difficult to trust
management. And why not? After all trust is the foundation upon which
all relationships and interactions are built! And once that foundation
is destroyed, relationships and interactions no longer function smoothly,
effectively or productively. So what can you do to build trust in your
organization? You can start by making sure your word is always as good
as gold, that your team members never have to second-guess anything
you tell them, and that they can count on you to do right by them, your
customers, and your organization. Once you get the basics down pat,
here are six additional steps you can take to get your team members
to trust you.
Step 1: Hold everyone accountable. Always hold all team members accountable
for all their actions. One way to do this is to have them commit to
this powerful axiom: If it's to be, it's up to me! You might even make
up a huge poster with those words followed by "I hereby commit
to take ownership of all my action" then have all team members
sign the poster. Once signed, display it in a conspicuous place for
all customers and team members to see. Also since it is difficult to
establish accountability among more than about fifty people, make sure
that you subgroup your organization into small business units of ideally
no more than fifty people per group. Typically people act more responsibly
when they are in groups where everyone knows every one else. It prevents
"anomie," the French term that describes a society that is
falling apart because normative standards of conduct are weak.
Step 2: Establish boundaries. Trust works when people know that they
can count on each other, to do a certain thing, a certain way. The organization's
mission, vision, and core values should define how things are done in
an organization. Collectively I call that the organizational philosophy.
If you don't have these and don't know where to begin, devour my book:
Winning Management: 6 Fail-Safe Strategies for Building High-Performance
Organizations. Once the boundaries are in place you must then discipline
yourself to expect that your team members are going to operate within
those boundaries. (Remember most of us get what we expect.) Control
in such an environment comes after the action, when results are assessed,
instead of telling people what to do or having them ask permission before
taking action. This allows you to function as a coach instead of a cop,
and makes your team members respect and trust you more.
Step 3: Build a learning organization. Trust requires lifelong learning,
because it can only come about if people can count on each other to
perform at peak performance. Such performance is only possible if you
have provided people with the resources to engage in lifelong learning,
constant renewal and change. To accomplish the latter you must also
give people permission to make mistakes. And the best way to do that
is for you to publicly admit when you have made a mistake. Once your
team members see that you are less than perfect, they too may be willing
to admit it when they have made a mistake. Which in turn will enable
them to take calculated risks and find a better way to do everything
all of the time, and then share both their successes and failures with
you and their team members. In addition, build a learning library of
books, audio and video programs that you can use for training purposes
and that team members can check out for independent learning so they
can become the best they can be. (Remember, an organization is only
as good as it's people.) I would especially recommend that you encourage
your team members to listen to motivational and educational audio programs
on the way to work. That way they arrive with a turned on, tuned in,
positive attitude which will enable them to deal more effectively with
stress, get along with their team members and take better care of customers.
In the next issue of this eNewsletter we will discuss the remaining
steps required to build trust which include:
Step 4: Practice tough love.
Step 5: Walk your talk.
Step 6. Practice high-touch.
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3. DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM?
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Lack of trust among your team members?
Contact me. In over 15 years of consulting I have developed a unique
and fail-safe process that in a day and a half will get your team back
in working order. Differences will have been worked out and the team
will walk away with written commitments that will serve as the foundation
for becoming a high-trust, cohesive, peak-performance team.
I know it works, that's why I provide a money back guarantee.
For details go to www.WolfRinke.com/intervention.html or contact us
at 800-828-9653 (USA), 410-531-9280, WolfRinke@aol.com to
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4. HUMOR BREAK
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Actual quotes from employee performance evaluations:
"Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like
a rat in a trap."
"She brings a lot of joy whenever she leaves the room."
"He would argue with a sign-post."
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5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, CSP is an internationally recognized management and
motivational keynote speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized
presentations that combine story telling, humor and motivation with
specific "how to" action strategies that participants can
apply immediately to improve their management and personal effectiveness.
He is also a highly effective management consultant, executive coach
and author of 12 books including: Winning Management: 6 Fail-Safe Strategies
for Building High-Performance Organizations available at www.WolfRinke.com
To take advantage of Dr. Rinke's services call 800-828-9653 or mailto:WolfRinke@aol.com
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6. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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